Remember the days of your own childhood when your parents simply plopped three boxes of candy, er, cereal, on the table with a gallon of milk and said, “Eat quick; the bus is coming?”
I know I date myself as I reminisce on those bowls full of Captain Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, or Fruity Pebbles, staple breakfast stuff of the 1970s and 80s. Of course, I wouldn’t serve such sugar-loaded tufts of air to a child today if you paid me today, but as a one-time kid and parent, I get the allure of sweet somethings in the morning.
Back in the day, on weekends, my mom would make banana blueberry coffee cake on Sunday mornings. This blueberry joy sometimes leaked into Monday morning breakfast, much to my and my siblings’ delight. Also loaded with sugar, it was like a birthday party in a bowl.
Thankfully, you can provide your kids with a similar memory—albiet one that’s actually good for them. The keto coffee cake recipe below—low sugar, high protein, low carbs—is my new take on my mother’s recipe. Served with yogurt or cottage cheese on the side, it’s our breakfast table staple these days and one that every kid who comes to our table loves.
Hint: Depending on your breakfast crowd, one cake can last several days. Refrigerate after day one. On subsequent days, re-heat pieces in the microwave for 20 seconds for the best taste.
Straight out of the oven. Photo by Cheryl Murfin
Awesome Keto Breakfast Cake
Ingredients
- 240g banana, (about 2.5) very ripe (pumpkin also works)
- 6 eggs large – or 7 if you want a little extra protein and a silkier cake
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2-1 tsp salt
- 300g (10.6 oz.)almond flour
- 15-30g (1 oz.) granulated allulose** in lieu of sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 60g (2 oz.) walnuts, pistachios, or pecans, crushed
Optional:
- 2 tbsp cinnamon or
- 1 tbsp cardamom or
- 1/4 C cocoa
- 1 cup sugar-free dark chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a large (2lb) loaf tin with parchment paper. A pie pan or cake layer pan also works well.
- Using a blender, beat the wet ingredients until smooth.
- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients—almond flour, erythritol, baking powder, and any optional flavorings—together. Save the cocoa for later if you want to make a pretty marble swirl.
- Pour in the liquid mix and stir gently until just combined.
- Fold in the crushed walnuts, reserving some to sprinkle over the top.
- pour the batter into the pan. Optional: Reserve 1/4 of the batter and add cocoa to it. Then swirl in. Sprinkle the reserved walnuts on top.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Check at minute 30. Take it out as soon as it passes the knife test or it’ll be dry. If the top is already brown enough, loosely place aluminum foil over it so it doesn’t burn.
- Let cool before slicing.
**Allulose is a naturally occurring sugar found in figs, raisins, wheat, maple syrup, and molasses. It’s as sweet table sugar (sucrose), but provides only 0.2–0.4 calories per gram, or about 1/10 the calories of table sugar. Because the body does not metabolize it, studies indicate that it does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels. It can be used ad a 1-to-1 sugar substitute.
Read more:
What do you do with those left over eggs?
